About the school

Our purpose

The school exists to train men for the ministry of the Word, to equip elders and deacons, and to ground church members in the faith of the Reformation. It teaches the whole counsel of God as the Reformed churches of Scotland and the Low Countries confessed it, and it teaches it freely: no tuition, no fees, and every required lecture and reading free to use.

Its programs run from a first certificate to the doctorate. Each program lists its courses openly, with their credits and whether they are ready, so a student can see what he will study before he begins.

Two streams, one faith

Scotland. The Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms in the 1647 text, as the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland adopted them, together with the Scots Confession (1560), the two Books of Discipline, the Directory for Public Worship and the Form of Presbyterial Church Government.

The Low Countries. The Three Forms of Unity: the Belgic Confession in its original 1561/1619 text, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort, with the Church Order of Dort (1619).

The two traditions agree on the substance of the faith. Where they differ in practice, on the songs of worship, holy days, the Sabbath and the civil magistrate, the school names the difference openly and teaches each position from its own best advocates. See the statement of faith.

How the school teaches

A course here is teaching, not a reading list. Each class sets out the text with its Scripture proofs, the catechism questions and the continental parallels, the history of the doctrine, the teaching of other traditions in their own words, objections answered, a lecture and readings, and a written assignment. A course opens only when its classes carry that teaching.

Every source has a stated role: doctrinal teaching, a primary text, history, a source studied from outside the tradition, a comparison, or supplementary material. The confessional policy for sources explains how teachers and readings are chosen.

Following the model of The Log College & Seminary

The school follows the model of The Log College & Seminary: rigorous programs built from free lectures and readings, studied online from the student’s own church. It is a separate school, with its own organization, curriculum and doctrinal standard. The Log College is shaped by American Presbyterianism and the 1788 American text of the Westminster Confession; this school teaches the 1647 text and the continental confessions, and keeps a running comparison with American Presbyterianism as a feature of its courses.

Our working name

Melville is the school’s working name, chosen for Andrew Melville (1545-1622), who joined the two streams in his own life. He studied and taught in Geneva under Beza, shaped presbyterian government in Scotland through the Second Book of Discipline, told King James VI that there are two kings and two kingdoms in Scotland, and died teaching at the Reformed academy of Sedan.

In English and Spanish

The school is built in both languages. The standards are given in their established Spanish translations, each marked as a published edition or as the school’s working translation, and the strongest lectures are translated for Spanish-speaking students with the permission of their owners.

Accreditation and honesty: the school’s programs are church-recognized training, not accredited degrees.